Tempo
by Nymbis
Summary: Four seasons, four couples and tons of fluff. 1. Chris never liked the leaves turning brown. 2. There was something deeply satisfying about her falling on her butt. 3. Mr. Wonderful had just doused her with snot. 4. I am not peeing on you.
1. Autumn

**Tempo **

**AN: **I haven't been writing a lot of DOTM lately (bad Nymmie, bad!) and the main couples of DOTM (aside from Serena x Stanton of course) seem to get surprisingly little love.

Also, DOTM Fanfiction contest! Please PLEASE enter! Check out my profile or the DOTM Writers forum for more info!

**Autumn**

He jammed his hands into his pockets as he watched his exhaled air drift upwards into the sky. To his side, Catty had linked her arm through his, a large canvas tucked under her arm as she viewed the trees that surrounded the park where they walked.

"How about that one?" She suggested cheerfully, but Chris remained silent to her side as he stared at the trees whose leaves were beginning to brown. She pouted, "If I wanted the anti-social type, I would have gone out with _Stanton _or something."

That got his attention, and Chris's head swerved to look down at his girlfriend, "Sorry, I got distracted by the scenery." He apologized sheepishly.

Catty rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her lips, "Trust me to be involved with the thousand year old boy with the attention span of a fly."

He mock frowned, "That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

She smiled, "Whatever. Back to my original question, how about that tree?"

Chris followed her gaze and saw a large maple that had been planted in the center of the park. Its leaves were russet colored, several of them had already fallen to the ground, "I don't like that one," he said honestly, pointing to another tree right beside it. This was a maple as well, but its leaves were fresh and green still, looking unmarred by the fall season.

Catty sighed, tugging him along by the arm, "The theme for my art project was autumn, Chris, that one looks brand new."

He pursed his lips, "Why'd you even bother asking my opinion if you were just going to go with your own?"

Catty laughed, "Formalities I guess." Without much dignity, she plopped down on the ground, dragging him down with her, as she pulled out her sketchpad and set it down on her lap. She gave the tree with the brown leaves a critical once-over, "Now tell me, what's your problem with the tree?"

Chris rolled his shoulders uncomfortably from where he sat sprawled across the ground, "It's leaves are brown."

Catty stuck out her tongue, "Duh. Of course the leaves are brown, it's fall."

Chris smiled sadly, "I don't like watching the trees loose their leaves over time, there's something sort of…depressing about it."

She stared at him in confusion, looking back at the tree, "The leaves come back though."

Chris frowned, trying to communicate his thoughts into words. The way that a tree looked stripped of leaves and standing naked in front of the coming winter, was an image that always settled poorly with Chris. Back when he had been a teenager, a _real _teenager, the falling of leaves meant that the time for war was coming, a time of bloodshed and long, grueling months of cold, misery, and pain. It wasn't something that set well with him, even now, thousands of years later.

"Back when I was younger, the leaves falling meant winter, winter usually meant death," was all he said bluntly.

Catty gazed at him before frowning, looking back at the tree, "Geez, Chris, way to be a mood killer."

He blushed awkwardly, feeling guilty for some unknown reason. "Sorry."

Catty's face scrunched up in contemplation as she eyed the tree, "So you hate this tree because it symbolizes the coming of winter?"

Chris paused, "Something like that. It just reminds me of the life I had before, one I wasn't quite fond of."

She nodded, "I see."

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two as the couple stared at the tree. Chris found his mind backtracking to the old times, where he had been Chrysippus, the Spartan. The dying leaves continued to call to him, reminding him of things he would rather forget, deeds he wished he had never committed. His life felt like eons away, and the cold fact remained that he could never discard his identity-

His inner ramblings were cut off when a large handful of dead leaves were dropped on his head and rubbed into his hair.

"Ack! Wha- Catty!" He sputtered, raking fingers through his brown locks, "What was that for?"

She sat a few inches away, smirking deviously, "You say fall reminds you of war? Well, fall reminds _me _of leaf fights!" With that she pulled on his arm and tackled him into a pile of leaves.

Chris found an odd laughter emitting from his throat as his girl continued to pelt him with dead leaves. Eventually he began fighting back, ignoring her giggles of protest as he landed on top of her in the leaf pile.

He was lucky, he inwardly mused, that Catty was always there to make his insecurities seem horribly silly.


	2. Winter

**Tempo**

**AN: **Thanks for the reviews guys, you rock my world! Time frame for this is sometime after book 6, but before book 12.

**Winter**

There was something deeply satisfying about Tianna falling on her ass.

Perhaps, as her boyfriend, that probably wasn't the best thing to be thinking, but Derek couldn't help the chuckle that crept up his throat when he watched his girl slide and land harshly on her derriere.

"Ow, ow, _ow,_" she grumbled, rubbing her sore spot and attempting to regain her balance on her wobbly knees.

Derek shook his head and quickly skated to her side, offering a mitten-clad hand to the beautiful girl pouting beneath him, "You're doing fine, it's your first time," he reassured.

Tianna pouted, "That's the fourth time I've fallen in as many seconds," she grumbled. "Remind me again why I agreed to go ice skating with you?"

He laughed, lifting her up and hooking an arm around her waist, "Because it's new and exciting?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes as she leaned against him, "You're lucky I like you enough to kill my pride." She was about to make another comment, but suddenly her ankle buckled and she pitched forward, Derek reacted quickly and stopped her face plant. "This is _dangerous_," she said.

He snorted, "Says the girl who tried to grind her board down a four story staircase?"

Tianna frowned, "Well, that was _fun _and dangerous-"

He mock sighed, "Are you saying I'm not fun?"

She smiled slightly, "Absolutely." Derek almost choked on his spit before she nudged his elbow playfully, "Lighten up."

He grinned as they began to skate again, "I could say the same to you."

Tianna giggled in good humor, "At least you're not getting made fun of by some second graders," she jerked a gloved thumb over at a pair of eight year old boys, who were imitating Tianna's lack of grace on the ice rink and laughing.

Derek tossed his long red hair out of his face, "I get made fun of by _you _all the time," he chided, gliding her around the rink, some horrible eighties love ballad playing in the background.

"Fair enough," she said easily, before teetering on her skates and sliding out of Derek's grip, colliding with the ice harshly, "_Owie!_" She squealed.

Derek laughed, "Owie?"

She glared at him from the ice, "I think I'm all ice skating out today, can't we just go grab some hot cocoa or something?"

Derek smiled while offering her another hand up, "Sure thing, Tianna, just promise me something?"

She looked at him, "What?"

A devilish glint acquired in his eye, "Make sure you're wearing that leotard on my birthday."

This time, it was Derek who got to fall on the ground.


	3. Spring

**Tempo**

**AN**: Dedicated to all the wonderful fanfic writers for DOTM : ) Proving that yes, we are stubborn, and no, we don't need your stupid book thirteen! (Well, it would be nice.)

**Spring**

"Uh, that is _so _gross!" She cried as her fingers began to frantically brush away at her face.

To her side, her boyfriend sniffled rather apologetically, "Sorry, Vanessa, but you know my allergies are bad-" his explanation was cut off by a horrible violent sneeze, sending yet another wave of snot flying forward.

"Ugh!" Cried Vanessa, obviously distraught and wishing she had some hand sanitizer.

Flowers were floating through the air on the lovely spring afternoon as the attractive couple sat outside the bowl to celebrate their first anniversary. A blanket was spread out, candles were lit, Michael had made some lovely cuisine, and it was the perfect scene for a romantic date.

That is, it would have been, if Michael wasn't having a near-epileptic fit because of the pollen in the air. Seconds ago, the two had been about to kiss and Vanessa had received a face-full of snot for the effort, courtesy of Michael's wonderful nasal passages.

Michael, deciding that the declaration of 'Ugh!' meant 'Give me some sugar', decided to lower his head again for another attempt at a kiss. Vanessa, startled, reared back her head simultaneously as Michael began to sneeze, resulting in a rather painful head collision.

"Ow," grumbled Vanessa in a put-out tone, severely unhappy with how the date was going so far.

"Sorry," mumbled a rather phlegmatic Michael as he rubbed the aching spot on his head.

Vanessa sighed, "It's not your fault Michael-" _It's those godawful genes of yours!! _"-why don't we just go out for dinner instead?"

Michael shook his head vehemently, "No. This is where we had our first date, and this is where we should celebrate our first anniversary." He said with a rather nasally finality.

Vanessa sighed and lowered her head, knowing that Michael had quite a bit of a romantic streak on him and that to argue the point further was rather fruitless, "Are you sure? You seem rather sick."

"It's just," sniffle, "allergies. People get them all the time," he protested, beginning to serve up some of the Italian food he had made, "Now, I know chicken parmesan is your favorite so I-"

He sneezed. Again. Into the food.

Vanessa grimaced, "Michael, enough's enough. I mean, I appreciate the romantic gesture and all but, well, I'm _not_ eating that."

He lowered his head, seeming absolutely crestfallen. Vanessa noticed some water leaking from his eyes.

She stammered apologetically, "Michael, I didn't mean to make you _cry-_"

He looked up at her in confusion, "Cry? My eyes are watering from all the dust."

Vanessa then felt a bit silly as her mouth made a little 'o'.

Michael sighed, "I just wanted today to be special."

Vanessa smiled and grabbed his hand, "Today _is _special, because I get to spend it with you," she said earnestly.

Michael looked at her and hesitantly returned the smile, "Really?"

She nodded.

There was a long, poignant silence while the two gazed into each other's eyes soulfully.

"Michael?" She asked wistfully.

His eyes seemed to sparkle like stars, "Yes, Vanessa?"

"…it would be even _more _special without your snot everywhere."

A sniffle, "Yes, Vanessa."


	4. Summer

**AN: **Last chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it! Decided to do it with all dialogue, just to mix it up a bit ;)

**Summer**

"I am _not _peeing on you!"

"It's the only way to counteract the venom!"

"You pulled that out of your ass!"

"I didn't pull anything out of my ass, Jimena, I saw it on the Discovery channel, you're going to have to pee on it!"

"No way, I'm calling an ambulance you stupid gabacho!"

"…I'm going to assume you called me a stupid gabacho out of love."

"Ugh, sometimes you're too pig headed for your own good!"

"But Jimena, you _need _to _pee _on it, I could lose my leg if you don't!"

"People don't lose legs from jellyfish stings."

"Sure they do, I saw it on the Discovery-"

"Enough with the stupid Discovery channel!…Hello? Yes, I'd like to call for an ambulance, my _stupid gabacho _boyfriend got stung by a jellyfish- are you serious? No I didn't pee on it! What kind of a doctor are you?!"

"Told you so."

"Shut _up _Collin! We're at the Oceanway pier, and we need an ambulance. Hurry up."

"The _pain_, it hurts _so _bad-"

"Suck it up. Try being shot three times, then you can complain."

"-if only my beautiful, urine-producing girlfriend would relieve me of my torment-"

"You're just being gross now."

"This is a life or death moment Jimena! I could _die_."

"The only reason you're going to die today is because you keep trying to get me to pee on you!"

"I thought you loved me."

"Nice try."

"I would pee on you if the situation were reversed."

"That's not even remotely romantic, Collin."

"Well, if you're not going to pee on it, could you at least kiss it better?"

"You're impossible sometimes."

"Hey, when a man's in pain, a man's in pain."

---

"Better?"

"...you know, I think the jellyfish stung my mouth too."


End file.
